You are invited to attend the first public workshop to help kick off preparation of Decatur’s Community Transportation Plan (CTP) Update. Beginning in October, the city will conduct public workshops to identify various mobility needs and to take a deep look at the state of mobility in Decatur. We want to hear from those who work, live, and recreate in the community.

All participants are encouraged to bring their ambitious goals to the kick-off and other input opportunities. Input opportunities are designed to be easy, informative and fun for everyone to discuss the future of all modes of transportation, identify current and future needs, make short- and long-term recommendations, and develop a vision for new mobility options and improvements throughout the city.

Public input is a large part of the Decatur’s CTP Update. Through this plan, we want to address the equity, sustainability, and active living community goals in Decatur’s 2010 Strategic Plan, as well as build off the framework of Decatur’s 2007 CTP: Decatur Gets Around. Decatur has hired the professional consultant team of jB+a, a division of Barge Waggoner Sumner and Cannon, Inc., and Toole Design Group to assist in the plan update.

Stay informed on the CTP Update by watching the city’s website and future issues of the Decatur Focus for project information and meeting announcements. For more information, contact Angela Threadgill, 678-553-6575, or angela.threadgill@decaturga.com, or visit DecaturNext.com.

The intersection of Oakview Road and East Lake Drive will be closed for an Atlanta United event today. Members from the Atlanta United team will be painting a mural at Universal Joint to celebrate their partnership with Delta Airlines. The event is invite-only and will take place between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Fayetteville Road can be used as a detour around the intersection and the roads will be reopen shortly after the event ends.

Weather permitting, North McDonough Street and the Candler and McDonough intersections at East Howard Avenue and College Avenue will be milled in preparation for final resurfacing starting on Monday, July 17. The work should take 2-3 days. This work is part of the North McDonough Streetscape Improvements and the Railroad Crossing Improvements at Candler and McDonough Streets.

Project details

The North McDonough Streetscape Improvements include reducing North McDonough to two vehicle lanes, providing for wider sidewalks, and installing a 2-way “cycle track” on the west side of the street, along with traditional streetscape improvements and on-street parking. The project also features significant “green infrastructure” improvements to improve storm water quality.

The Railroad Crossing Improvements will significantly improve accessibility and safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, further encouraging those who live in Winnona Park, the McDonough-Adams-Kings Highway community, and other neighborhoods south of the CSX rail corridor to walk and bike into downtown Decatur. The improvements will provide gentler slopes on the north side of both crossings resulting in an accessible path for persons in wheelchairs or those using strollers, and a much safer route for all located outside the railroad crossing gates. Presently, pedestrians and bicyclists have to share the roadway with vehicles at these crossings.

In addition to improvements at the crossings, there will now be new pedestrian crosswalks where none presently exist — on the east side of both intersections and just north of the Candler crossing connecting to the sidewalk along the old Depot property.

Finally, improved vehicular mobility is also a project priority. Both crossings will include new traffic signals on both sides which will allow protected left turns on all legs of the two crossings.

How to manage

North McDonough and the two intersections will remain open to two-way vehicle traffic. However, there will be temporary lane closures and minor delays during the work.

To obtain updates on this and other construction projects in downtown Decatur, sign up for Extreme Makeover: Downtown Decatur Edition at decaturmakeover.com.

Lockwood Terrace will be closed to through traffic during the day at the intersection of Fairview Street. This detour is needed to install pipe crossing under the road and is expected to be in place from Thursday (June 1st) to Friday (June 9th), pending weather. The street will be open after working hours. Access to residences is expected to be maintained at all times. Your patience during this time is appreciated.

The City of Decatur will begin storm drainage repairs next week on East Lake Drive between 3rd Ave and Oakview Rd. The project is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Feb. 21 and should last 4 days. This section of East Lake Drive will be open to local traffic only. A detour will be provided for all through traffic. See detour map above. If you have any questions please contact Tony Kemp, Decatur Public Works, at 404-557-3671 or 404-370-4104.

Google Fiber will continue to work within the City of Decatur this month. In addition to the underground utility work, they are starting to install aerial infrastructure and upgrading poles. Below is a list of the aerial work over the next week. Both the underground and aerial work will require lane closures/road closures in certain areas.

Residents are advised to remain vigilant as construction zones and traffic patterns change as work progresses.

Georgia Pedestrian Safety Action PlanEverybody walks.

The Georgia Department of Transportation and PEDS are developing an action plan aimed at increasing safety for people who walk. They’re starting out by gathering input about the challenges people face while walking in their community.

Please take this 5 minute survey to ensure the new Georgia Pedestrian Safety Action Plan recognizes and addresses the challenges that are most important to you.

Please invite your family, friends, colleagues, and communities to do the same. They survey is available in both English and Spanish.

If you have any comments, concerns, or questions about this survey or about the Georgia Pedestrian Safety Action Plan, please feel free to contact us at:

We’ve launched a new website and communications program — dubbed “Extreme Makeover: Downtown Decatur Edition” — to keep residents informed and moving throughout an upcoming period of potentially disruptive construction projects.

Between streetscape overhauls, infrastructure repair, safety enhancements, and development projects, there’s a lot planned or in the works for the city’s downtown over the next 12 to 18 months. And much of it involves overlapping timelines, which amplifies the potential for inconvenience.

The new site is intended to give residents the tools they need to plan ahead and work their way around any disruptions.

From now until the list of planned projects is complete, DecaturMakeover.com will serve as the hub of a larger program to keep residents informed — offering timely, ongoing status updates, email and social media alerts, and overviews in the city’s Focus newsletter.

Astra Grading and Pipe will begin work during the week of June 20 on Phase 2 of the Downtown Decatur Storm Drainage Improvements. A plan of the new storm drainage system is included below.

As part of its efforts to eliminate flooding in and near downtown Decatur, the City of Decatur is making storm drainage improvements on East Trinity Place, East Howard Avenue, Barry Street and North Candler Street. The project will start in front of Decatur Fire Station No. 1 and includes the replacement of undersized and deteriorated storm drainage facilities on East Trinity Place, Barry Street, North Candler Street and across private properties in the area. All new storm drainage improvements will take place in City rights of way.

This project was originally planned almost 40 years ago and will reduce or eliminate frequent flooding on private properties on Barry Street, North Candler Street and East Howard Avenue. It completes the major planned improvements to the upper Peavine section of the downtown Decatur drainage system and replaces some of the oldest storm drainage infrastructure in metro Atlanta.

The work will be phased in 300 foot sections, with one lane closed while work is taking place in that section. The work will start with location of utilities, saw cutting pavement and establishing a temporary construction office and storage area at 250 East Trinity Place. Except when crossing intersections, two-way traffic and pedestrian access will generally be open during the entire job. The work is expected to take 9 to 12 months.